Sewing-machine attachment



Aug. 22, 1944. J; P. ENOS SEWING MACHINE- ATTACHMENT Filed July 10, 19424 v 3mm cfOhflRKnos J Patented Aug. 22. 1

p f 3mm g 'S-EW'ING-MAGHINE ATTACHMENT. John P. Enos UnionIN. .L,assignor to The Singer Manufacturing Comp any, Elizabeth, N. .L, a

*corporation of New Jersey V W '7 Application July 10,1942, Serial No.450,394

3 Claims. (01. 112-143) This invention relates to sewing machinede viceswhich are adapted tofacilitatethe production of felled seams.

To produce the usual-type of felled seamf in which two plies of materialare involved, it is the usual practice to first superpose the edgeportions of the two pieces of work and stitch them together a suitabledistance from the edges of the work. Thesecond and final operation isaccomplished by opening the seam and inserting the free edges of thework in a regular presserfoot hemmer, therebyto complete the fell whichis seamed by means of stitches passing through five plies of the work. gMy U. S. Patent No. 2,296,509, datedSept. 22,

1942, discloses a presser-foot hemmerof the type above referred to.

:However, when it is attempted to secure two heavy or stiff pieces ofwork together by means of the above described felled seam, or to securean edge portion of a;single ply of material to the edge portions of twosuperposed plies of material by the same method, difiiculty is experi-venced in properly loading the plies of fabric into the usualhemmer-foot. This diificulty arises because, in either of the two abovecited cases, the plies are too stifi or heavy to bend readily about thehemmer-arbor- Therefore, if the various plies do not properly bend aboutthehemmerarbor, the work cannot enterthe required distance into thehemmer and consequently adefective seam will result. It is to obviatethis diiiiculty that the present devices have been provided. V

The present invention, therefore, has for an object to provide improveddevices that will facilitate the proper formation of a felled seam,particularly when the work to be seamed comprises more than two plies oris composed of stiff and heavy materials.

The invention both in structure and in operation, as well as additionalobjects thereof, will be best understood from the following descriptiontaken in conjunction with the accompanying drawing, in which:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a hemmer-foot used in conjunction withthe present invention as applied to a sewing machine.

Fig. 2 is a top-plan view of the hemmer-foot and the throat-plateembodying the invention.

Fig. 3 is a front view of the throat-plate shown in Fig. 2 andillustrating the action of the invention.

Fig. 4 is a section of the throat-plate taken substantially along line44 of Fig. 2.

p on the sewing machine throat-plate l4.

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary bottom plan view of the throat-plate embodyingthe present invention. g

Fig. 6 is a section of a piece of work taken transversely of the lineof'seam formation.

-In the drawing, the hemmer, foot'is shown'as comprising a base-memberor sole-plate Ill terminating in a shank ll attached by the thumb,-

screw l2 to the usual presser-bar l3 of a sew-j ing machine having athroat-plate l4 and a reciprocatory needle-bar l 5 carrying the threadedneedle l5. The sole-plate Ill atits forward end is bifurcated to providethe spaced toes l6 and I! and is apertured, as at 18, to provide theusual needle-hole.

Carried by the toe I1 is the usual hemmer scroll l9 having a leadingwork-folding edge 20 which extends spirally rearwardly between the toesl6 and I! toward the needle-hole IS. The work-folding edge 20 ispreferably steeply spiraled so that it will have a decided foldingaction on the marginal portion of the fabric as the same contacts thework-folding edge in its passage through the hemmer.

. Carried by thetoe I 6 is a shank-2| having -a conical-shaped arbor 22,the free end of which is disposed within the scroll l9 and directedtoward the needle-hole 18. From Fig. 1 it will be seen that the marginalportion of the fabric is folded about the conical-shaped arbor 22 by thehemmer scroll I9. The arbor 22 and the sidewall l'l' of the toe ll forma cloth passageway through which the work is loaded into thehemmer-foot. v It is understood that the fabric is fed under thehemmer-foot by the usual feeding element or dog (not shown) common tosewing machines. The above described hemmer-foot is adapted to operatein its usual manner but, according to the present invention, it issupplemented by a loading fin of spring wire resiliently supported Thethroat-plate is of the usual type with the exception that it is providedwith a narrow slot 23 disposed longitudinally of the direction of seamformation and in front of the hemmer-foot so as to be aligned with thefabric entrance thereof. The forward end 24 of the resilient wire issecured, by means of a screw 25, in a groove 26 formed in the bottomface of the throat-plate Id. The wire extends from this mooring upwardlythrough the slot 23 to form a workengaging portion or fin 21 which isinclined upwardly toward the entrance of the hemmerfoot; As may be bestseen in Fig. 2, this Workengaging portion of the wire is disposedsubstantially parallel to the line of seam formation, and further, it islocated to one side of the needle-hole l8, and is aligned with andextends into the cloth passageway as defined by the sidewall I1 and thearbor 22. The free end of the wire then extends downwardly through theslot 23 and is bent at right angles to the fin 21, thereby to form anarm 28. The screw 25 is preferably set upon the wire portion 24 so thatthe fin 2! is spring biased upwardly away from the upper surface of thethroat-plate and so that the arm in order to prevent the free end of thewire from being raised above the throat-plate l4.

This throat-plate I4 is provided with the sun feed-dog slots 29 and aneedle-hole 39 which is aligned with the hemmer-foot needle-hole I8."

7 tially' finished seam and force the upwardly pro jecting free edges 3|of the upperside of the work 32 into the hemmer-foot, thereby to causethe heavy three plies of material to enter the hemmer-foot the properdistance so as to insure that a perfect fell willlbe formed. As the fin27 is resilient it will adapt itself for materials of differentthicknesses.

Furthermore, the operator may control; with the aid of the presentinvention, the amount of material which is fed into the hemmer-foot. Theoperator need only place one hand upon each side of the work adjacent tothe upwardly projecting free edges 3|, and then by a spreading action ofthe hands downwardly and in opposite sidewise directions the free edges3| are forced downwardly againstthe resilient fin 21 to a greater orless degree, thereby to limit the amount of material which the finZ'I-may crowd into the hemmer-foot. It is particularly advantageous tobe thus able to control the amount ofmaterial which may be fed into thehemmer-foot when the thickness of the work or the number of plies of thework varies during a single continuous seaming operation.

It is to be understood that the fin- 21 may be adjusted transversely ofthe line of seam formation by loosening the screw 25 and shifting thewire portion 24 lengthwise within the slot 26. Furthermore, by turningthe wire portion 24 herein illustrated is constructed of piano wire'having a diameter of .025 inch. This fin was 28 will engage the bottomof the throat-plate. l4 .e;

found to be particularly well adapted, for use with silk and rayonmaterials. I-Iaving this set forth the nature of the invention, what Iclaim herein is:

s 1. A sewing machine throat-plate having a one end is secured to thebottom surface of said throat-plate, said wire having its body portionextending upwardly through .said slot and normally disposed above thetop surface of said throat-plate, the other end of said wire extendingdownwardly through said slot and being bent at an angle to said bodyportion to underlie said throat-plate. and means to adjustably securesaid-wire to said throat-plate so that the wire may be adjustedtransversely of said slot;

2. The combination with a hemming device having a needle hole, an arborand a side-wall, said arbor and said side wall forming thereb'etween acloth passageway, of a cloth-plate opposed to said hemming device, amember carried by said cloth-plate and having a portion thereof springbiased toward said hemming device'said member being aligned with saidpassageway and being effective to engage a portion of a cloth piece andforce the same into said passageway to insure that a complete hem is'made in said cloth piece, and means to adjust said member transverselyof said passageway.

3. The combination with a hemming device having a sole-plate formed withspaced toes, a hemmer scroll carried by a first one of said toes, and ahemmer arbor carried by the second one of said toes, said hemmer arborand said first toe forming therebetween a passageway, of a throatplateopposed to said her'n'm'ing device, and a fin carried bysaidthroat-plate and aligned with said passageway, said fin being adapted toengage-a portion of the work and to force the same into said passageway.a i I V I 7 JOHN P. ENOS.

